


Bad Day

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21654493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex has a bad day on tour.
Kudos: 5





	Bad Day

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request!

Most days, Alex loved to be on tour. He loved playing music with his best friends, and he loved that he could connect to so many people and make their lives better to some degree. While most days were like this, he had off days sometimes, too. Occasionally, he would wake up feeling anxious or in a bad mood for no reason.   
Unfortunately, when he woke up in his hotel room a little after elven, he realized that today was going to be one of those days, because he felt down for no reason. On top of that, his throat hurt a bit and he felt congested, and he knew that this meant he was coming down with something.   
When he looked at his phone, he saw a text from Jack saying that the other three had gone out to brunch, which frustrated Alex more, since he would’ve wanted to go if they’d just woke him up to tell him. He knew that they had to leave for the venue in a little less than there hours, so he decided to start getting himself ready. He took a long shower, then took his time getting dressed.   
After making some tea for his throat, he got back in bed to relax and to try to get rid of his bad mood. Eventually, he heard the door open, and Jack walked in carrying a to go box.  
“Hey man, we brought back some chocolate chip pancakes for you. We have to check out in half an hour, then the bus is taking us to the venue,” Jack explained, handing Alex the box and a plastic fork.  
“Thanks,” Alex said, his voice a bit hoarse.   
“Are you alright? Your voice sounds a bit messed up,” Jack pointed out.  
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alex replied, coughing some.  
“Are you coming down with something? I can-“ Jack started.  
“Jack, please, I’m fine,” Alex insisted.  
“But, I just-“ Jack tried.  
“Stop, I’m not in the mood man,” Alex snapped.  
“Alright, then. I’m going to Rian and Zack’s room. The bus will be here in thirty, so be ready,” Jack mumbled, walking out of the room.   
Being friends with Alex for so long meant that Jack knew how to deal with Alex when he was moody. He didn’t like when Alex was so short tempered and wanted to try to get him into a better mood, but he knew that leaving Alex alone for now was for the best.   
Alex felt bad, he hated to be such a dick to his friend, it made him feel worse, but when he got into bad moods, he always tended to isolate himself. He knew he shouldn’t do that, but he couldn’t help it, it was what he’d always done.   
Once he was finished with his pancakes, he grabbed all of his stuff before heading downstairs to find his bandmates already there and waiting for him.  
“You ready to go, man?” Rian asked Alex.  
“Yeah, why else would I be down here?” Alex snapped back. With that, the four of them walked out to the bus, and got on. Alex stayed in his bunk on the ride to the venue; he still wanted to ignore everyone else and just sulk by himself. His congestion got a bit worse on the bus, so he spent a lot of the ride blowing his nose, hoping to get rid of this issue by showtime.   
By the time they got to the venue, Alex’s nose was a bit pink, which he hoped that his band wouldn’t notice. After throwing away his tissues, he followed the other three to the back door of the venue.   
While they waited for the crew to unpack their instruments, the four of them decided to get some drinks.  
“What do you want, Alex?” Zack asked, pouring a beer into a Solo cup.  
“I think I’m just going to have some water,” Alex replied. Normally, he drank when he was pissed off to alleviate the feeling some, but since he did feel a bit sick, he decided to pass for today.  
“Are you sure you don’t want a beer?” Jack asked.  
“I’m not really in a drinking mood,” Alex replied.  
“Fair enough. Hey, it looks like our instruments are ready, let’s do our soundcheck,” Rian said, pointing to the stage. They set their drinks at their feet, then started into their soundcheck.   
Singing made Alex’s throat hurt even more, but he tried to hide his discomfort. He wasn’t technically sick, and he didn’t feel like having his bandmates ask him a bunch of questions and hover over him. About halfway through, Jack told everyone to stop playing.  
“Alex, you don’t sound quite like yourself, man,” Jack pointed out.  
“Yeah, are you okay?” Zack asked. As Alex went to answer, he started to cough some.  
“Are you sick, dude?” Rian asked once Alex finally calmed himself.  
“I’m fine, just a little tickle. This water will do the trick,” Alex said, picking up his cup and taking a drink. Without looking at what he was doing, he set his cup back down then turned to his friends.  
“See, I’m just-“ Alex started.  
“Alex, you spilled your drink on the amp and it’s chord!” Jack exclaimed. Alex quickly turned back around and saw that he drenched the chord and where it plugged into the amp.  
“Fuck!” Alex exclaimed. He went to mess with it, but a crew member quickly came over to stop him.   
“Alex don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself. We’ll get this taken care of by showtime, don’t worry,” the crew member said, throwing away Alex’s now empty cup.  
“Well, I guess we’re done with soundcheck,” Zack pointed out.  
“I guess so,” Alex replied, clearly annoyed.  
“Hey, it’s okay, Alex. Don’t worry about it,” Jack said, trying to assure his friend.  
“Whatever, I’m going to a green room,” Alex said, taking off his guitar.  
“Alex, wait-“ Rian tried.  
“I’ll see you guys right before we go on,” Alex snapped as he stormed off. He went to a small green room that had a couch and locked the door behind him.   
He sat down and shoved a pillow into his face before screaming into it. This proved to be a bad idea, as it sent him into a coughing fit seconds later. He quickly calmed himself down and realized that he felt sicker now. His throat felt worse, and his congestion was still bad. On top of that, he felt a bit achy and was starting to develop a headache. There weren’t many days that Alex didn’t want to do his job, but today was one of them.   
Meanwhile, the other three were in a different green room that was down the hall from where Alex was.  
“So, what the fuck is up with Alex?” Zack asked his friends as he got another drink.  
“He said he was in a bad mood at the hotel,” Jack said.  
“I think he’s getting sick, too,” Rian said.  
“Jack, I think you should talk to him later,” Zack stated.  
“Yeah, like after our show,” Rian added.  
“I think that’s a good idea. He clearly wants to be left alone right now, but I might be able to get through to him some after we play,” Jack replied.  
“We’ll stay back so you two can have some privacy; I know he usually prefers that,” Zack said.  
“Well, I’m in for a great night,” Jack sarcastically replied. Alex stayed in his separate room until it was showtime, and he felt himself get worse as the time passed. Once there were about five minutes before they were due on, he went to the stage entrance, and found his bandmates already there and ready to go.   
Alex spent the remaining time tuning his guitar, not talking to anyone. He was a bit embarrassed about how he’d been acting, but his throat hurt a lot more now, and he didn’t want to stress it with an unnecessary apology to everyone.   
When they walked onstage, they immediately started into their first song. The show was going well for the most part, Alex’s cough had gotten a bit worse, but he was doing a decent job of hiding it from his band and the fans.   
He took his guitar off when they went to perform Stella as he always did. Right before the second verse, he went to play with his microphone stand and he leaned on it a bit too much, causing it to hit the side of his head before it fell to the ground.   
Alex moved his microphone away from his mouth as he let out a string of curse words and picked up his stand. The rest of the band could see how frustrated he was getting and hoped that he’d be able to get through the rest of the set problem free.   
His voice got weaker as time went on, and he was very ready to be done by the time they were set to play Dear Maria. Alex didn’t have his guitar again for his song, which he was happy about, since the weight of it was starting to make the dull aches he had feel worse.   
When they got to the bridge, Alex tried to dance some to make it look like he was in a better mood than he actually was. When it was the audience’s turn to sing, he lost his footing, and fell straight back. He didn’t do too much damage to himself, but one of his arms hurt a bit since it broke his fall.   
After making it through the rest of the song and quickly thanking the crowd, Alex bolted offstage. The other three stayed out a bit longer as Alex ignored everyone backstage and went straight to the bus. Not even bothering to changed, he grabbed a blanket and pillow from his bunk and went to the back lounge.   
He’d started to get the chills, so he wrapped himself up in his blanket, and held his pillow in his lap. Due to all of the built-up frustration from his bad mood, all of the shitty things that happened onstage, and the sick feeling, he started to cry.   
Jack walked inside the bus and could immediately hear Alex crying. Sighing, he made both of them some tea, then went to the back lounge. He found Alex with his head in his pillow, so he set down the two mugs, then sat on the couch next to Alex, then wrapped him into a hug. Confused at what was happening, Alex looked up to see Jack.  
“Jack, what’re you doing here?” Alex asked, wiping away his tears.  
“Helping you. What’s been going on today, man?” Jack asked back.  
“I don’t even know. I woke up in a shitty mood, and I’ve felt kind of sick all day. Then, the amp blew, then the stand fell, and them I fell,” Alex rambled, before breaking into a coughing fit. Jack rubbed Alex’s back until the fit finally went away.   
“Don’t work yourself up so much. Anyway, I’m sorry to hear all of that. I wish I could’ve done something to help you earlier, but you shut me out all day,” Jack stated.  
“I know, and I’m sorry. I’ve been a dick all day, and you’ve done nothing to deserve it. I was just so upset, and I don’t even know why,” Alex admitted.  
“That happens to everyone, man. It sucks, but it’s totally normal. I know you’ll probably wake up sick tomorrow based on today, but maybe tomorrow will be a better day than today was,” Jack said, trying to lighten the mood.  
“I fucking hope so, but I am starting to feel pretty awful,” Alex said, blowing his nose.  
“That reminds me, I made us both some tea. Maybe it’ll help your throat some,” Jack said, handing Alex his mug.  
“You’re the best, thank you. Seriously, I’m sorry for being such an asshole all day,” Alex replied.  
“It’s okay. Bad days happen, and they absolutely blow, and I totally get that. Why don’t we just relax and watch some movies? I’ll grab my blanket and pillow and we can just chill,” Jack suggested.  
“You really want to stay out here with me?” Alex asked, sounding surprised.  
“It’s what best friends do!” Jack replied as he grabbed everything he’d need. They decided on the first Hangover movie, and Jack let Alex snuggle into him.   
The next day, Alex woke up sick, not that anyone was surprised by this. Luckily, it was an off day, so he could spend it resting up. Jack spent most of the day with Alex, helping his friend however he could. By their next show, Alex was doing a lot better, and felt significantly happier.   
He never knew what caused him to have such shitty days sometimes, but he was very grateful for the wonderful support system he had in his band to help him get through anything and everything.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a request for CNF! I wrote this when I was having a bad day myself, so writing it helped me out some. I still have a bunch more requests to finish and post, and they'll be up very soon! Please send me any you have, I love writing things for you guys! Off topic but is anyone going to the NP shows? I hope you all enjoyed this story, and look forward to more coming up soon! Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
